In our last blog, we laid out what a customized home-theater experience could look like. Now we’re going to see what it takes to get you there.

From location to budget to theme to technology, there’s a lot to consider to get you your perfect home theater that will mesmerize people with each visit.

Location

Location, location, location. We’re starting here because choosing the right location for your home theater will determine all the other factors we’re going to discuss.

Ideally, your home theater will be in a space that provides a great ambiance, and ability to maximize your control of the two crucial elements of a home theater: light and sound.

Since you want an experience as close to a real theater as possible, planning your home theater in a spare room or living room isn’t ideal. But if that’s your only option, there’s a lot you can do to make it excellent. For example, having top-of-the-line insulation which blocks out ambient noise and insulates sound will go a long way to creating the perfect space. Even with solid insulation, though, both a spare room and living room offer different disadvantages for a home theater.

Most of the time, spare rooms are square, which greatly affects the acoustics of your home theater. While it is isolated from the rest of the home, if the room is square there is a sacrifice in quality for your viewing experience.

With a living room, while it may be more spacious and rectangular, it is hard to isolate the room from the other areas of the house, and the other activities that are happening under your roof. While both viable options, to get the maximum home theater experience you’ll want to use a part of the house that is isolated from the rest of the room, the right shape, and well insulated. Most choose the basement, and build accordingly, or have an entirely new addition to their homes for a home theater.

Home Theater Technology

Once you’ve decided and planned out your location and space requirements for your home theater, the next step is to determine what A/V equipment will make your home theater complete.

Like the space you plan, there’s a lot to consider with this as well. Wiring, for example. Is your space capable for being wired? This is important because with the rise of homeowners opting for subscription TV services, your location will need to be able to access internet, and this can take some extra customization depending on your location.

Next are the A/V components you’ll need. If you’re going for mostly a movie watching experience, then a projector would be the better choice. If you think you’ll be watching more TV or gaming, then a large-screen TV is the way to go. However, a bigger screen doesn’t mean better viewing for either option. You’ll need to adjust the size of your screen depending on the size of your room, and how far the seating area will be from the screen.

Also, you’ll want to have the right lighting for ambiance and mood, and to match your chosen theme and decor.

Lastly, if you’re planning on installing a home automation system, or already have one, your home theater can be taken to the next level with customizable controls. Curtains that wouldn’t be out of place in an arthouse cinema can be pulled back to reveal the screen, lights dimmed to your preferred settings, and the volume level programmed for different genres. All possible with home automation and one programmable setting to get everything as you like it.

We put the “home theater” in Valley Home Theater, so we can help you every step of the way to get your ideal video experience.